Range practice drills

S

spiderM9

Inactive
Hi everybody. I'm new to TFL and have really enjoyed reading through all your comments here. I'm pretty much a newbie, currently waiting for my CCL to come. I'm going to the range once a week at lunch time for practice now, so I have almost an hour to shoot. Could y'all lend me some advice on what kind of drills I could use to practice. Searching the archive didn't find anything on this specifically (basically all I found was the "smiley face" thread). I've got a Steyr M9. When I shoot now and take my time I'm pretty accurate, but I end up leaving the range feeling like I didn't really learn anything. I'm planning on trying out IDPA in a few weeks, they shoot once a month, but what I'm really looking for are things I can do at the range.

Here's what I'm interested in:
How many rounds do you burn through in an hour.
What distances do you shoot.
What kind of targets (if it matters).
Specific "drills" or sequences you've found to be helpful.
 
Keep It Interesting

This works for me:

First, Shoot at orange dots from a stationery store pasted to some white paper for practice keeping groups small. Do this at 7 yards, then, when you're confident, all the way to 25 yards.

For "practical" skills, my range prohibits rapid fire, so I like to hold the weapon at low ready, then on a "signal" from myself, I bring the sights to bear and fire as quickly as I can. I usually shoot at a silhouette for this drill. It will realy help you when you shoot IDPA. 7 yards is ideal.

I also fire at least 1 full mag with my off hand, no support from the other, and a mag from the strong hand, again unsupported.

I recently got a .22 for the bullseye practice, it's a lot cheaper. I also go back to the bullseye whenever I open my groups up.
 
This is a great topic. I too don't want to seem like a freak at the local range. It brings to mind the psycho cop on police academy who did the shotgun qualifier with all the rolls etc. Anyway, try the IDPA classifier course of fire and stick to the 7 yard program.
 
After you become comfortable with your gun, take a class or two on defensive handgun shooting. I assume this is what you are interested in given you are getting your license. The class should give you plenty of foundation. Then find a range that will let you practice drills from the holster and do things like double taps. Many ranges frown on this type of activity, apparently due to insurance problems. Between the class(es) and what has been suggested here, you should have plenty of options to using for training practice. The important thing is to take it slow, don't worry about speed, and speed will come naturally. Smooth is fast.
 
sox, you nailed it! everybody else is just standing there shooting. Maybe they're all working on some subtle isometric finger exersize too minute to see, but by the resulting patterns, I kind of get the impression they're just happy to hit the paper. I wanted to try something a bit more challenging (while in the bounds of the range rules) and not look like a freak. (Not that there's anything wrong with just standing there shooting, I mean, that's what I've been doing, and practice makes perfect)

Thaks everyone, your suggestions will keep me busy for quite a long while. Many of those drills you referred me to were for things I never would have thought of.
 
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